Hands from the Darkness
by Rainbow Raver Waffles
Summary: A four shot that takes place between chapters 8 and 9 of my story Little Miss Potions. This is the account of Lauren's influence upon the Battle in the Department of Mysteries, her trauma, and the reaction of Severus Snape. A bit on the dark side, it breaks cannon with the prevention of a certain character death. It's an OC story so... COMPLETE!
1. From the Door to the White

**Chapter one, year five. The battle in the Department of Mysteries takes a terrifying turn and brings to surface many questions about a certain, unassuming girl.**

**This will be a two shot that goes between Chapters eight and nine in my Little Miss Potions series. For the sake of making it less work for me I'm posting it separatly, I'm also doing this because I'm not sure how everyone will perceive this idea. It does fall into the special powers category, which is something a lot of people don't like to see in OC's, but that came up simply because that's how I ended up planning things. **

**This chapter focuses on the battle, the next will have Snape in it, and should be posted in the next hour or so. For those of you who chose to read it, I hope you enjoy. =3**

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Chapter 1 – From the Door to the White

It was sheer insanity, this predicament that she was in. And she found it amazing how fast things could go awry, even when you expected and prepared for the worst. Even when you were on the very top of your guard things could sneak up on you, things in the darkness. Things you feared.

She had been only slightly hesitant to follow the others on this mission. She did not personally know Harry's God-Father, did not know Mr. Black, but she did know that he meant more to Harry than possibly anyone else. The man was as close to decent family as the boy had ever had and she didn't want him to lose that. For it to happen, she was sure, would damage him irreparably.

She could not in good conscience let that happen and so she had gone along. The ride to London on the thestrals had been invigorating, reminiscent of evenings with her aunt who raised a small herd of her own, and the only good part of the experience.

It worried her slightly how easy it had been to enter the Ministry. Her father worked there, though not in any of the more secreted places, and she was sure there should be more security. Things should not be open, they should not be able to pass through.

She stamped out her suspicions though, later she would wish she hadn't, and followed her friends through the corridors. Surely they were having the same thoughts, surely they knew the danger they were in since, had they not come to save Sirius from Voldemort? They were practically walking into the clutches of darkness.

It terrified her but she had to be strong.

The rotating doors made her head hurt, the room full of brains was disgusting and the room with the door nearly made her faint. She knew that door, knew it well and wanted nothing to do with it. When it had winked out of sight she was relieved and nearly forgot about it once they were among the room of Prophecy.

The initial confrontation was a blur at this point. Everything was a blur. She remembered vaguely Draco's father, her disappointment in him and dire worry for her friend, she recalled running, shouting, firing off every defensive and offensive charm she could, and the sound of breaking glass and muted screams as the towers of prophecies came crashing down.

Things started to melt together again, she was in the room with the door, so was Harry and Nevill and several death eaters. Members of the Order started to appear when hope seemed lost, Mr. Lupin was the only one she readily recognized, and they all started to fight. Or at least she thought they did, it sounded like it.

She hadn't really seen anything for a while. Her gaze was ever fixed on the door, on the veil fluttering so gently, beckoning curious minds to venture inside.

She was yards away but could hear the voices. _Come here, come here_ they beckoned darkly. _Come here little girl_ they called. And as the world went to war around her she could only stand, frozen in her spot, knowing that if she moved the her inside herself, the one that was not properly her, or perhaps really was, would fling her into the depths to be dragged away into that dark, dark place where the carbuncles roamed and the shadows were red.

Harry came close to the door, she only knew because he was suddenly in her line of vision, and she wanted to step forward and knock him away. He was too close! Didn't he know what hid behind there, didn't he know what darkness waited?

A curse was aimed at him and he fell back. She relaxed only a fraction, then tensed again. Mr. Black! He was so close, too close! Get away, get away!

She wanted to scream at him, wanted to cry, but before she could that wild eyed woman, the one named Lestrange, shot a curse his way and he fell back.

Slowly he started to disappear into the void, eyes growing vacant as death caught him.

Harry screamed out, tried to lunge for him, but Mr. Lupin held him back.

"No!" the shout was louder than anything in the room and she belatedly realized it had come from her, realized that her legs were moving, her feet flying across the black floor, towards that enticing door.

She could hear Harry calling to her, Mr. Lupin, all the other adults in the room, watching with desperate eyes as she sprinted towards the door of Death.

Harry started to sob as she sunk her arms in, flinging back the veil. Her mind came rushing back to her, all the pain she was feeling, rough pinpricks on her skin. This was where she was now, this was the present, that was the past, the future was starting to begin. Her head spun and she dove in deeper, cheek pressed against the chilling shadow barrier.

She caught Sirius by the hand, then by the arm, then started to pull and pull with all her might. Inside her head she could hear voices screaming, demanding she stop, pull back, threatening to drag her in. _This is where you belong little girl! This is where you should be and now we have you! _

She started to cry but didn't stop pulling. The things pulling on the other side tugged harder still and screamed.

She screamed back "no! No! You can't have him! Not this one! You can't have him! You can't have me!" At the top her lungs she screamed and it echoed in the silence. Everyone else had stopped their action, petrified by the spectacle before them.

"I rebuke you in the name of star light! I rebuke you in the name of fire! I rebuke you in the name of the white, the holy, the pure! Let him go! He is mine!"

A shriek rang out, piercing and shrill, several people in the room covered their ears and Sirius was suddenly let go. She went tumbling backward with him in her arms and they sprawl on the floor. From the door shadowed hands began to reach out and she shook visibly, trying to craw away from their groping, deformed fingers.

She pushed Sirius, breathing raggedly, back with her and sobbed, kicking out frantically when the darkness grabbed at her legs and feet. It had her for a moment, dragged her across the floor and she screamed louder, trying to twist away.

Her words were an incoherent babble of pleading, a continuous 'no, please no!' a sobbing 'I can't help it. Please stop it.' It seemed that since her objective, save Sirius, had been completed she had lost whatever driving force there was to her courage.

She was back to the terrified girl she had been only moments before, dreading the door, the things behind it, the darkness inside it.

"Help!" she choked out. "Please…" It was but a whimper.

A light consumed the room and the hands burst into inky shadows that fell to the floor with wet drops. A hissing scream left the door and, now free, Lauren crawled away just far enough to feel safe, collapsing in a hysterical heap on the floor.

She could hear words, muted as they were, and knew it was Dumbledore who had saved her. She would have to remember to thank him, have to remember… remember. Her mind began to slow, then stopped, frozen, then emptied, vacant. She could think nothing, feel nothing. Her vision faded out just as the tears ceased, her hearing gone just as someone screamed. The last sensation she could identify was being lifted. After that, everything was… White.

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**Chapter two will be around in a few hours and will give more answers. **

**In the mean time, any questions, comments, or advice, send it my way. Otherwise have a good day/night/other! **


	2. From the White to the Warmth

**Chapter 2! Year 5. Lauren is in shock and Severus comforts her. This two shot has turned into a 4 shot and will be completed after my class. Thanks to venomistress and nightworldangel for adding this story to their favorites~ Hope you enjoy though this is kind of sad and kind of creepy.**

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Chapter 2 – From the White to the Warmth

Severus went to meet them approximately an hour after their return from London.

Dumbledore and those members of the Order not in the care of Madam Pomfrey were hidden away in the Headmasters office, speaking in hushed tones when he arrived. All around were grave faces, deeply trouble and… was that fear he saw? What had happened?

"Ah, Severus" the bearded wizard spoke nervously when he entered. "Just the man we wanted to see…"

"Oh?" he arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. None of this seemed good, it all seemed very bad actually, and he gave the man a weary gaze. "And why is that Albus?"

"It is concerning Ms. Dari."

Now both of his brows were up and a worried knot was growing in the pit of his stomach. "What about her?"

The old man drummed his fingers nervously on the surface of his desk, in deep contemplation of his next words. For a moment Severus feared the worst, feared that perhaps she might have perished at the hands of the dark lord.

He knew he should have called her away tonight, should have thought of some mundane task to keep her from Potter, that fool. If he'd gotten her killed he would-

"Has she exhibited any… unnatural abilities before? Are there any anomalies within her person that you know of?"

That question seemed loaded to him, for whatever reason, and brought his arms behind him. "No. She is over all an average girl, if not more destructive and emotional than most."

Albus frowned "this is no time for your snide remarks. Tell me the truth" he demanded, though his voice did not rise.

Severus cocked his head slightly to the side. "I believe she may wield Raw Magic, obviously I've not confirmed it."

"Anything more?"

"No… Where is she?"

He watched the man's eyebrows droop, eyes filling with a slight sadness. "Poppy is seeing to her, among the others- Severus!"

He called after the dark haired man who turned on his heel, black robes billowing around him as he stalked away, out of the office in seconds.

Obviously Poppy would not be partial to a late night visitor but he needed to see her, make sure she was okay, and steel himself for the inevitable if she was not. He did not want to lose someone else, but if it was going to happen he could not let himself be caught off guard, could not let it affect him. He was ready to shut her out if it was needed, burry her memory, but he hoped he wouldn't have to.

He dimly registered the sound of someone pursuing him and summarily ignored them. He didn't care what any of those fools had to say. He was busy.

In what might be considered record time he was at the doors of the infirmary and pushing his way in. Whoever had been following grasped for his wrist and he avoided them quite deftly. Shaking hands never could get a good grasp on anything and Lupin cursed.

Madam Pomfrey gave a nervous start when the silence of the room was interrupted and she turned away from the person she'd been watching so intently, Ginny was finally sleeping soundly.

"Severus! What do you think you're doing?" the normally kind woman snapped in a hushed tone as he wandered right past without a word. She was obviously nervous and overwhelmed by the sudden influx of severely injured children and adults occupying her ward and in no mood for whatever it was he was doing.

"Where is Ms. Dari?" he questioned shortly and her plump face flushed.

"You leave her alone now! She needs her rest."

"Have you seen to her condition?"

"Condi- The dark?" she questioned, exasperated. "I hardly think-"

"If she awakens in the dark she will have a nervous fit. Where is she?" His scowl was not only on his face, it was also in his voice and the woman backed down, though only slightly. Madam Pomfrey was a tough one after all, he'd just gotten tougher since his years as a student.

"Don't go waking her now" the woman murmured, wandering over to one of the cots.

On it Lauren laid, her back to them, the thin sheet covering her body rising and falling with her slow, even breathing. She looked peaceful and he felt a little more at ease.

Quietly he walked around to the other side of the bed, conjuring and lighting a candle as he went.

It fit easily into the holder on her bedside table and brought light to her little corner of the room. He looked down and caught it illuminating her face, casting soft shadows over her cheeks and nose, bringing out her freckles, turning her large, staring eyes from ivy to emerald.

For a long while he just stood and looked into those eyes, unblinking, glassy, as if she was frozen, a doll… soulless and broken. It chilled him to the bone and all the tension plus more rushed back into his body.

She was still breathing, she was not dead, but her eyes were vacant… Was she hollow? What had happened?

Holding that gaze he tried to peer inside her mind, see if he could find an answer, and withdrew immediately, dizzy and a touch nauseous. It was all at once empty and full. Her conscious mind was a blank, unthinking, unmoving. _To think is to live_ a wise man once said and if that was true then she was, by all counts dead. Her subconscious, however, was a chaotic swirl of nightmarish fantasies and pure, unadulterated fear.

He took a slow step away from her, out of the candle light, and her arm shot forward, catching him by the robes. She tugged, hard, a strangled noise escaping her throat.

"Light" she rasped out. "S-stay. Stay in light…"

Poppy jolted, along with Severus and a surprisingly still present Lupin, and ran around the bed to see her.

She gasped, hands coming up to cover her mouth as she took in the girls empty expression and, more disturbing yet, the tears collecting in her expressionless eyes and falling down tan cheeks.

"Stay" she said again. "Stay please. Don't go… Don't-" she choked on her words, hand twitching, clutching tighter. "They're coming," and that nearly dead gaze rose up to fall upon him, petrifying him. "They're coming… please stay." Another choke and twitch. "Too much… too much is open."

She actually sobbed this time, then fell still.

"Everything is open… Professor, please."

Her voice cracked and she fell silent as the tears continued to roll down her face. Her hand fell away, whatever energy she had, or had borrowed perhaps, spent. In her voice, now a distant, chilling memory was a terrified desperation, a pleading, and he hesitated none in throwing back the blanked, sitting himself down, and pulling her into his arms.

She curled in on him reflexively, pulled fully into his lap in just moments, and he cradled her against him. He gave no thought to his personal comfort, to the fact that she was a student and that this was highly inappropriate, he disregarded the other two, standing there, staring openly. His focus was on her, solely. She had asked for him, for his help, and he would help her, lest he lose her.

Silence stretched on for several moments and Poppy asked "anything you need?"

"No" Severus replied simply, and she and Lupin walked away.

The silence swallowed them again and he didn't try to break it. He held her tight, rubbed her back and stroked her hair, all the gentle and comforting gestures he was not familiar with but had once thought of offering to a certain, long gone, someone.

She was small against him, her frame much thinner than he'd before realized. Fragile, breakable, she was so vulnerable, so vulnerable and something had finally preyed upon that vulnerability. What could it have been?

He could feel her tears against his neck, her head pillowed on his shoulder, and began to rock slowly back and forth.

"Stop that" he muttered softly, the silence too much for him now. She was never so silent, there was always a sigh, the rustle of clothes or the turn of a page when she was around, silence did not become her and he couldn't take it anymore. "Stop that you daft girl, you silly, silly girl."

He tugged her a little closer to him and her hands, such tiny hands, clutched tighter to his robes. "Stop that and come back. Come back to… to them, to Potter and Draco. To Ms. Lovegood and Granger, to your friends."

He rested his head atop hers, turning against her soft hair. "Come back to me" and he begged every force, every deity he knew of that she would. A broken body could be healed, by Muggle and Magic alike, but a broken mind was hard to restore and he could not stand to think that she would live but live as this shell, a terrified husk of the girl he knew.

"Professor?" her breath was warm against his skin, tickled a bit, and he held her tighter.

"Lauren?" and it was the first time he'd ever used her given name. It felt odd, sounded odd, but not bad. Perhaps it would give her a jolt? A knock back to reality?

She shifted in his arms and he loosened his grip a touch, pulling back as she slowly raised her head.

"Professor" and there was a touch of clarity in her watery eyes, a little spark of life muddled with terror. "I'm so scared."

"Are they still coming?" he asked, not entirely sure what it meant but sure that it mattered to her, to her wellbeing.

"I'm hiding. They're passing… Too much is open… Everything is open and it hurts. What happened? Why is everything open? I'm so scared and I don't even know why…"

The terror that filled her eyes was replaced with a sad frustration and he cupped her cheek tenderly, thumbing away her tears that were running a little faster.

"I do not know." He told her gravely. "I do not know but I will help you. I will protect you… Would you like that?"

She nodded. "Please."

"What can I do?"

She put her head back down on his shoulder, head spinning though she knew he didn't know that. He didn't know a lot of things, which was amazing and sad. She didn't know a lot of things either. Like this.

What could he do? What, what could he do? Her arms wrapped tighter around his middle and she relaxed against him again. So warm. He was so warm and familiar, smelled familiar and safe. He was new, different, nothing like the white. The white was safe but it wasn't warm, it was cold and empty and nothing could… nothing could…. The word was lost, she must have lost it in the white. Or maybe it had been closed… something had closed, something small, maybe that word…

It was bad when words closed... Oh! What was this? So warm.

She blinked and sat up, looking at his face with unfocused eyes.

"Who?" she let the word slip out without finishing her though and he watched her head tilt in that unusual way. "Who are you? … So warm."

She smiled and even as she did he watched her eyes start to empty.

"Lauren" he said sternly, raising both hands up to grab her face, hold it in place. "Look at me. Look at me" he hissed through clenched teeth. What did she mean 'who are you?' She was drifting again!

Her gaze focused a little more but the dimness remained.

"Where are you going?"

"Ah" a little sigh came out. "White… Who…?"

"I am your Professor, Professor Snape…" He searched her eyes, tried legimancy again and pulled away abruptly yet again. A dumbing numbness tried to fill his head, white light fuzzing his line of vision and he rejected it, using her as a focal point again. "The white stops your thought" he said.

"Stops… Closes" she smiled that empty smile again.

"That is not good."

"Not…" she frowned. "Not" the word was unfamiliar… What was a word?

He saw her slipping farther and braced one hand on her shoulder, squeezing. "Stay." Would she understand that much? It had been one of the only things she could articulate. Please let her understand.

"Stay?" her head tilted in the other direction. "Stay in the warm?"

He held her against him again. "Yes. Stay in the warm. It will protect you. I will protect you."

"Protect?" she muttered against his neck as he stroked her hair. "Save?"

He held her tighter. "Yes."

Her breath was warm against his skin, tickled a bit, and he held her tighter. She was gone again, perhaps not as far but she was still gone. And it was nerve wracking because he did not know anything about what was going on, did not know what was wrong with her. He would have to ask again when she was better, and she would get better, but until then he could do little more than hold her, comfort her as best as he could.

Her grasp on him had loosened but he knew that if he tried to leave she would cling to him, perhaps fall back into that desperation, and so he resolved to stay with her till dawn. In the light of the sun he thought that she might calm and allow him to make his quick retreat. Till then he would make himself comfortable.

A few minutes of shifting found him more properly sitting in the cot, back propped against the headboard, legs out in front of him. She was curled against his upper body, head still resting in the crook of his neck, arms loosely around him and he was glad for that. He wasn't sure if her eyes had closed and a night of that empty gaze would be too much for his tired mind.

As it was though, he could at least manage to close his eyes and try to relax while he stroked up and down her back. He could at least be satisfied that he'd saved her from whatever the white was, because it certainly wasn't safe, and given her something warm to cling to.

He thought it only fair with all the warmth she'd brought him.

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**Sorry if this was ooc or sappy but I feel like, once Sev is invested in someone he will care for them and he will care for her. Hope you all could enjoy, sad as it is. There are two more chapters coming.**


	3. The Trouble of Recollection

**Chapter 3! Year 5. Lauren is back in class but still not all there. **

**Thanks again to venomistress and nightworldangel for adding this story to their favorites~ Hope you enjoy.**

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Chapter 3 – The Trouble of Recollection

It was her first day back in class. She'd been away for a week, drifting in and out of that strange delirium. At times she had been manic, at others placid to a catatonic level.

He was most worried when she would not speak. That vacant stare and empty mindedness made him fear that she may not come back, may not come out of whatever strange place she was in.

He spent several nights at her bedside, and two more actually in it, holding her to keep her calm.

He wondered if she recalled it, any of it, as she sat there at her desk, fidgeting slightly. Her eyes were brighter but still not all there, her look worried and nervous. She would not meet his eyes, or anyone's for that matter, and when he started the lecture did not open her book or her notes.

It was distracting but he plowed on, perhaps a little shorter of temper than usual, and snapped his book shut when the bell rang.

She started packing quickly and tried to leave but he easily intercepted her, a hand on her shoulder.

"How are you feeling Ms. Dari?"

She looked down at her shoes and frowned. "I… I don't know."

It was better than a lie he supposed, but not at all informative.

"What's wrong?"

Her frown deepened and she looked a little frustrated with her brows knit together. "I don't know."

She shook her head and pulled away from him, taking a few steps back. "I just… I woke up in Madam Pomfrey's this morning and my head hurt and it still hurts, every time I try to remember it hurts more… I don't know."

He stared at her for a moment longer, trying to gauge her level of truth, and was disturbed to find no lie there. Did she truly not recall anything? Not even how she'd gotten there, how long she had stayed?

"Do you know?" she asked, sounding a touch desperate, and he had to shake his head.

Dumbledore refused to tell him exactly what had happened, everyone who'd seen it did and had hidden that memory away. The only thing he could grasp at was that it was traumatic to everyone who had witnessed it.

"You have been in Madam Pomfrey's care for the last week however… Come back this evening and we will discuss the work you have missed."

She made a startled noise, looking at him finally, and then teared up a little. "A week?" she asked. "I don't remember… Professor I'm sorry" she sniffled.

"You have nothing to apologize for" he replied, recalling those long nights. Her quiet questioning of 'who are you?' and 'where am I?' as if she had been obliviated just moments before. "Don't cry."

She nodded, producing from her sleeve the handkerchief he'd given her for Christmas, and wiped away the unshed tears. It made him a little glad to see her using it, but not good enough to release the knot of worry in his chest.

"Are you feeling well enough to continue to your next class?"

She gave another nod slowly and sighed. "A lot is open."

He stiffened. That bizarre phrase again.

"Too much, and I can't remember. If I don't think about it I'll get better, but too much is open and the wrong things tried to close."

"What does that mean Ms. Dari?" he asked quietly.

She blinked, eyes glazing over and he had to resist the urge to step back.

"I can't… I don't… What?"

She shook her head and stepped away from him. Her eyes cleared up a little and she gave a slight whine. "Can… Can I go now?"

"Yes. Go on. Be here at six"

"See you Professor" she forced a little smile and left the room.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

She was better but she wasn't. She would heal but it would take time, and till then he did not know how to approach her, how to work with her on this.

He would try though. He had promised. He had promised to protect her, to save her, and that was what he would do.

At his desk sat several books he had been poring over. The pages of several memory and mind restoring potions were marked and he planned to make each one of them, give them to her in small doses and see which helped the most.

He'd be damned if he didn't try, and he knew she would be too.

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**Posting before class, this is un unbettaed. Tell me if there's errors and I'll fix em. ^^**


	4. Success in Short

**Chapter 4! Year 5. A short epilloge to give this a bit of a finality. The story is complete with this chapter. Thanks again to venomistress and nightworldangel for adding this story to their favorites~ Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 4 – Success in Short

The potions helped. Her extra lessons helped. Anything to get her mind off the blanks in her memory, to give her something of substance to do and learn helped.

He learned not to ask her about what had happened or what has happening to her and soon she was more back to the sweet girl he was used to.

Ms. Lovegood, since they shared a room, let him know how Lauren was doing in the night time. Apparently she was much better though she had, a few times, crawled into Luna's bed.

Friendly debates were a good way to keep her eyes from glazing over, and when they did a potion poured in some chamomile tea usually did the trick.

It was in this way that they continue through the last few weeks of the year and, the day before her departure, she appeared in his room with a wide smile on her face, a real smile.

She hugged him, something he allowed only because of her sensitive state of mind, and gazed up at him with more happiness than he had seen from her in a long time.

"Things are closing now" she cheered. "I'll see you next year, won't I?"

He nodded, not asking what that meant, just accepting her happiness as success, as her healing.

"I don't plan on changing my profession any time soon" he supplied and she laughed.

They talked for a few more minutes, about nothing at all really, and when she left with a wave and that same smile he felt a little more at ease.

With any luck she would come back normal, come back herself. And when she did he would welcome her and continue to protect her so that she never fell to the darkness again.

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**And with that I get back to the previous story. **


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